I watched Tokyo! a couple days ago and figured I’d type my thoughts before they get too far away from me. The movie is actually three movies in one. Each is a bit over 30 minutes. Had any of the three been full length I’m quite certain I would have hated the result. As it is, each has some redeeming portions. Let’s look at them individually.

The first film is called “Interior Design” and is written and directed by Michel Gondry. I love the atmosphere in this one. As someone about to move from a 2,400 square foot home into a 700 square foot apartment in Tokyo with my wife and two kids, I can “feel” this movie more than many I suppose. The end is a little weird and doesn’t really make much sense to me. This movie, and the last one, seemed very Japanese to me. If I didn’t know it wasn’t a Japanese writer and director I certainly would have guessed Japanese authorship. Overall, I give it a 7 out of 10.

The second movie is by Leos Carax and is called “Merde.” The opening scene and newscaster scenes are outstanding. I laughed a lot when the old Japanese lady described the sewer monster. Beyond those scenes, however, there is nothing I find decent in this segment. I would give it a 1 or 2 out of 10, but because of those few moments that were really well done I award Merde a 5 out of 10.

The final picture was my favorite. “Shaking Tokyo” by Joon-ho Bong is excellent from start to finish. If you haven’t lived in Japan for a period of time then maybe you won’t get it, but I really felt this one. Seeing Japan’s streets totally empty and the main character’s house totally unkempt on the exterior was lots of fun too. 9.5 out of 10.

July 3rd, 2009 | Tags: reviews, Tokyo | Category: Japan | Leave a comment

When I visited Kiyomizu Dera for the first time, I hadn’t read anything about the place in a guide book. Therefore, I had sort of a “Duh” moment when after following around the packs of tourists we actually arrived at the kiyomizu that makes up its name. I hadn’t really thought about why it was named as it was or what the significance of the name was until this point. Duh!

Anyway, I bet you can’t tell which of these kiyomizu samplers is my daughter.

July 2nd, 2009 | Tags: japan pictures, kyoto, temples | Category: Japan | Leave a comment

“The taiko is an instrument that demands more than technique. It is an obstinate instrument. It will resist and resist the drift of the music until the sheer energy of the man who plays it at last excites the god in the drum, and the rhythms then flow naturally from him till his arms grow weak with exhaustion. The wise player circumvents the drum’s resistance by taking so much sake into his body that the god in the drum has no alternative but to assume command at the outset.

I have to suppose that the god in the drum can also read minds, for as I moved in and out of the crowd, past the lanterns and the benches and the crates of bottles, a young man wearing a white plastic raincoat came up and thrust a paper cup of sake into my hand and asked me if I would like to play. I said that I would, but that I would require more sake. More sake came. The crowd around us began to bubble. Three drummers offered me the use of their sticks, and after I had drained a third paper cup I took my place by the side of a drum and waited for the right-hand drummer to tire. Then, when my turn came, I stepped up to the drum, saluted it with the sticks, and whacked it.

The crowd went silly. “Look at this! Look at this! A gaijin! A gaijin playing the taiko!” Flash guns went off, crates were upended, parents pushed their children forward and craned their necks and stamped and clapped, and I felt the sake curl in my stomach and grinned at the drummer on the left of the drum, a middle-aged man who said “Yah!” and grinned back, and the god in the drum was kind to us both.

I have no idea how long I played. Twice the left-hand drummer changed and twice the drumsticks slipped out of my hands. When I came away I was drenched in sweat, and I sat on a bench with a towel round my head, guzzling sake and laughing like an idiot.”

(Alan Booth in The Roads to Sata p. 78-79)

July 1st, 2009 | Tags: alan booth, book quotes | Category: Japan | Leave a comment

Shopping centers in Japan frequently have a similar look and feel to them. Some are called ginza, some are out of doors, but a common look is the one above–sort of a covered arcade of sorts.

This one is one of the largest, if not the largest, for this variety in Japan. You head down one of these lanes off of Kawaramachi Dori (河原町通) or Shijo Dori (四条通) in Kyoto and when you get to the end you can turn the corner to head down another mega-long street loaded with nothing but more shops and more shoppers.

June 30th, 2009 | Tags: japan pictures, kyoto, signs | Category: Japan | Comments (1)

As I was digging through some photos I took in Kyoto I came upon this rather lovely one and determined to find out what the lantern meant. かがり火 is simple enough. Kagaribi means bonfire. 祇園 is Gion (the famous Gion known for teahouses and geisha). No surprises there as I took this picture in 円山 (maruyama) park which is either in or right next to Gion. So I figured this must be in reference to some bonfire festival that would shortly be taking place in the park. Right?

Wrong. A quick google search turned up this site, meaning that this decorative lantern is nothing more than an advertisement for a nearby restaurant which specializes in its tofu dishes.

Oh well. It’s more attractive than the billboards plastered along the sides of U.S. highways.

June 28th, 2009 | Tags: cherry blossoms, kyoto, sakura, signs | Category: Japan | Comments (2)

I had the unfortunate experience of wiring a large sum of money to Japan yesterday to pay for part of my children’s education for the next school year. The amount was large (about 3 million yen) so even minor fluctuations in the rate meant I would be paying, or saving, hundreds or thousands of dollars.

First of all, setting up a wire transfer through Wells Fargo (and I’m guessing the other major banks as well) is anything but quick and easy. The fees are large if it is a one-time wire so they encourage you to set up a repetitive wire transfer to make it a bit cheaper. To do so requires filling out pages of documents. I spent more than an hour with the banker. Then my wife had to go into the bank to sign papers too. I then had to send two faxes and fill out more paper work when things weren’t set up correctly. I also spent more than a half hour on the phone.

At long last things were ready to go. I called to make the transfer. The Wells Fargo agent processed everything and then said she was going to conference in a currency exchange agent. He got on the phone and quoted a rate of .0108. She finalized things and asked for my approval. I asked for a minute to run some numbers because things didn’t seem right.

The internet was quoting me a current rate of .01048. I ran some numbers and figured that the rate of .0108 was going to cost me about $1,000 more than .01048 so I told the agent that. She asked if we should try again. WTF? Try again? What does that mean in this context? I was trying to make a wire transfer of funds not roll dice in a casino.

I answered that if trying again could result in a better number then yes we should try again. She got the agent back on the line, told him I was unhappy with his quoted rate, and asked for a better exchange rate. He said, “How about .0106?” I couldn’t believe my ears. Was I dealing with a major bank or a loan shark? My hands were pretty tied as I had to get the money to Tokyo. I asked for .01048. He said no. I asked for .0105. He said he could only give me that rate if I was wiring more than 5M yen. So I was stuck with .0106.

Some important points to note:
1) If Wells Fargo, or likely any bank, tells you that wiring money to another country will cost you $15 or $30 or whatever their service fee is do not believe them. They will ream you on the rate so that they will make hundreds or thousands of dollars on the transaction.
2) Do not accept their initial rate! Had I accepted their initial rate I would have paid more than $600 than I ended up spending. I got taken by Wells Fargo, but it could have been worse.
3) Avoid wire transfers, or any conversions of dollars to yen, in the USA. The banks in the US will legally rip you off.

Foreign currency exchange can be a scam. The middle man is doing next to nothing for huge profits. The amount of the profits are determined by the desperation and degree of ignorance the person needing the other currency holds.

The stage coach is heading off with my money as fast as it can in the opposite direction from me.

June 27th, 2009 | Tags: Travel | Category: Other | Comments (4)